Swimming Victoria and the Korean Swimming Federation (KSF) have recently partnered together in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
According to Swimming Victoria, the agreement signed by the organization’s President Michelle Harris and KSF Secretary General Kim Seunghoon ‘recognizes the already strong connection between the two bodies and formalizes their commitment to support joint activities in the areas of coaching, swimmer development, and competition.’
While in Australia, the KSF representatives were also given a demonstration of the ‘Hawk-Eye’ technology developed by SV, a ground-breaking technology that supports officiating and performance analysis.
The system in place is made up of a permanent 9 camera system (4 under water and 5 above water), all feeding back to the onsite review booth. The review booth has a four-monitor setup, two of which were used to replay and select angles for analysis, whilst the other two displayed ‘always live’ angles of the pool to avoid missing any action. The system aims to firstly improve the efficiency and automation of the inspector of turn whilst also reducing the need for timekeepers. (Swimming Victoria)
The state of Victoria, Australia has hosted several notable Korean swimmers in the past, including reigning world champion and two-time Olympic qualifier Hwang Sunwoo.
In 2022, Hwang visited storied coach Ian Pope in Melbourne for a six-week training camp along with teammates Lee Hojoon, Kim Woomin and Lee Yooyeon.
Lee Juho, Cho Sung Jae, Choi Dongyeol and Lee Eunji also trained at Nunawading in Melbourne in 2023 while Hwang and his countrymen descended upon Queensland, training under Richard Scarce at Miami Swimming Club.
Korea is not the only Asian nation to utilize Australia as an alternative training base. Olympians Daiya Seto and Rikako Ikee have been stationed at Griffith University under Michael Bohl‘s tutelage since last fall.
